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The State Department Web Site Below Is a Permanent Electro Information Released Prior to January 20, 2001. Please See W Material Released Since President George W U.S. Department of State, Human Rights Reports for 1999 Page 1 of 45 The State Department web site below is a permanent electro information released prior to January 20, 2001. Please see w material released since President George W. Bush took offic This site is not updated so external links may no longer func us with any questions about finding information. NOTE: External links to other Internet sites should not be co endorsement of the views contained therein. 1999 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor U.S. Department of State, February 25, 2000 DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO Much of the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire) continued to be ruled by President Laurent Desire Kabila, whose Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire (ADFL) overthrew the authoritarian regime of Mobutu Sese Seko by armed force in 1997. The State continued to be highly centralized formally--although in practice the country's dilapidated transportation and communications infrastructure impaired central Government control--and Kabila continued to rule by decree, unconstrained by a constitution or a legislature. Kabila continued to ban political party activity, and replaced the ADFL with Libyan-trained " People's Power Committees" (CPP's) that monitored the activities of citizens in neighborhoods, schools and workplaces. The July 10 Lusaka Accords provided for a political dialog among the Government, rebel factions, the unarmed opposition, and elements of civil society; however, little was accomplished toward this end during the year. The judiciary continued to be subject to executive influence and corruption. By year's end, the Government had lost control of more than half the country's territory to armed antigovernment organizations, the Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD), and the Movement for the Liberation of the Congo (MLC). The RCD remained dominated by members of the Tutsi ethnic minority but split in May into two factions: One that continued to be headquartered in Goma and to command most RCD forces and continued to be supported by the Government of Rwanda; and a new faction based in Kisangani that commanded fewer troops and, like the largely non-Tutsi MLC, was supported by the Government of Uganda. War broke out in August 1998, when Kabila tried to expel Rwandan military forces that had helped him overthrow Mobutu. Congolese Tutsis as well as the Governments of Burundi, Rwanda, and Uganda all relied on the Rwandan military presence for protection against hostile armed groups operating out of the eastern part of the country. These groups included: The Interahamwe militia of Hutus, mostly from Rwanda, which took part in the 1994 genocide of Tutsis in Rwanda and who fought the Tutsi-dominated Government of Rwanda; Hutu members of the former Rwandan armed forces, which also took part in the 1994 genocide of Tutsis in Rwanda, and who http://www.state.gov/www/global/human_rights/1999_hrp_report/congodr.html 1/2/03 U.S. Department of State, Human Rights Reports for 1999 Page 2 of 45 also fought the Government of Rwanda; the Mai Mai, a loose association of traditional Congolese local defense forces, which fought the influx of perceived Rwandan immigrants; the Alliance of Democratic Forces (ADF), made of up Ugandan expatriates and supported by the Government of Sudan, which fought the Government of Uganda; and several groups of Hutus from Burundi fighting the Tutsi-dominated Government of Burundi. In the ensuing war, elements of the armed forces of Rwanda and Uganda operated inside the country in support of the RCD or the MLC; elements of the armed forces of Angola, Chad (whose forces withdrew from the country during the year), Namibia, and Zimbabwe operated inside the country in support of the Government; and the Mai Mai and Hutu armed groups operated inside the country on the side of the Government, often as guerillas operating inside territory held by antigovernment forces. Elements of the armed forces of Burundi operated inside the country against armed groups of Hutus from Burundi who used the country as a base. A small detachment of Libyan troops was present in the capital for a few months but did not conduct any combat operations. Antigovernment forces generally continued to win territory from progovernment forces during the year despite sporadic fighting among rival rebel organizations. A cease-fire agreement negotiated in Lusaka in July was violated by all parties especially in the north and east, but fighting was generally less intense than during the first half of the year. The Government's security forces consist of a national police force under the Ministry of Interior, a National Security Council (CNS), the National Intelligence Agency (ANR), and the Congolese Armed Forces (FAC), which includes an Office for the Military Detection of Subversive Activities (DEMIAP). There is also a Presidential Guard, which has its own Investigative Branch (DGGP). The immigration service (DGM) and the recently organized Autodefense Forces (FAP) and CPP's also function as security forces. During the year, Kabila gave Mai Mai leaders commissions in the FAC and coordinated operations with the Mai Mai and Hutu militias; the Government also formed People's Defense Committees (CPD's), which were armed elements of the new CPP's and operated outside the formal structure of the State, but which were not yet armed in some areas at year's end. The police force, reorganized in 1997, handles basic criminal cases. The CNS shares responsibility for internal and external security with the ANR, including border security matters. The FAC retains some residual police functions. Military police have jurisdiction over armed forces personnel. The security forces committed numerous, serious human rights abuses. Most sectors of the economy continue to decline. Production and incomes continued to fall, and the modern sector virtually has disappeared. Physical infrastructure was in serious disrepair, financial institutions have collapsed, and public education and health have deteriorated. Annual per capita national income fell from an estimated $115 in 1998 to less than $100 in 1999. Subsistence activities, a large informal sector, and widespread barter characterized much of the economy; the insolvent public sector could not provide even basic public services. External economic assistance remained limited, and the State's revenues from diamond exports, its leading source of foreign exchange, declined. Public sector employees, including most soldiers, routinely went months without pay, which caused a number of strikes. Rebel-held areas increasingly were integrated financially and administratively with the economies of Rwanda and Uganda. The Governments of Rwanda and Uganda established commercial agreements and reportedly have levied and collected taxes and customs duties. http://www.state.gov/www/global/human_rights/1999_hrp_report/congodr.html 1/2/03 U.S. Department of State, Human Rights Reports for 1999 Page 3 of 45 The Kabila Government's human rights record remained poor. Citizens do not have the right to change their government peacefully. Security forces were responsible for numerous extrajudicial killings, disappearances, torture, beatings, rape, and other abuses. In general, security forces committed these abuses with impunity, although a special military tribunal tried and executed some security force members for various human rights abuses. Prison conditions remained harsh and life threatening. Security forces increasingly used arbitrary arrest and detention throughout the year. Prolonged pretrial detention remained a problem, and citizens often were denied fair public trials. The special military tribunal tried civilians for political offenses and executed civilians, frequently with total disregard for process protections. The judiciary remained subject to executive influence and continued to suffer from a lack of resources, inefficiency, and corruption. It was largely ineffective as either a deterrent to human rights abuses or a corrective force. Security forces violated citizens' rights to privacy. Forcible conscription of adults and children continued, although children were conscripted to a lesser extent than in the previous year. Government security forces continued to use excessive force and committed violations of international law in the war that started in August 1998. On at least three occasions, government aircraft bombed civilian populated areas in rebel-held territory. Although a large number of private newspapers often published criticism of the Government, the Government continued to restrict freedom of speech and of the press by harassing and arresting newspaper editors and journalists and seizing individual issues of publications, as well as by continuing to increase its restrictions on private radio broadcasting. The Government severely restricted freedom of assembly and association. The Government continued to restrict freedom of movement; it required exit visas and imposed curfews even in cities not immediately threatened by the war. The Government continued to ban political party activity and used security services to stop political demonstrations, resulting in numerous arrests and detentions. It also harassed and imprisoned members of opposition parties and harassed human rights nongovernmental organizations (NGO's). Violence against women is a problem and rarely was punished. Female genital mutilation (FGM) persists among isolated populations
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